Morning Chores

We often get asked how much work farming is. Since we're not really truly farming yet, I don't really truly have an answer. But I CAN show you exactly what the morning chores currently are. We're slacker farmers, because we don't start the morning routine until about 7:30 am.

First, the new Nubians get fed. Prior to the white pail set up you see below (called a Lambar), this was done by giving each of the six babies two regular human baby bottles each. That took a whole lot of hands and was just a big bucket of chaos. The Lambar has really really eased the hassle of this task, which takes place three times per day. Plus, their hineys sticking up in the air is adorable... especially when accompanied by the trademarked goat sneeze/fart. The spotted rear end you see in the bottom right of this picture is Ringo, who still hasn't figured out how to use the Lambar. The little babies took right to it, but Ringo just isn't all there in the head. That's why he only gets to sing the goofy songs.


Next up, feeding time for Ferdinand the bull. (Surprise! Another new farm animal!) Ferd (cracks me up to call him Ferd - say it out loud... hysterical) is easy to feed. Dump a half gallon of slightly warmed milk into the bucket and off you go. He also gets fed three times per day. Of course, there's the mandatory few minutes of standing there watching him going, "Awww... how sweet is he?!?" This morning I decided to "tape" him to see how much he weighs. (We have these tape measures called "weight tapes" that, rather than inches around, shows you how many pounds the animal is.) He weighs 76 pounds and is three weeks old. I'm really glad there was no one in the barn with me this morning watching me try to tape the wiggly little bugger. Did you know that even if you're leaning over a calf from behind wrapping a measuring tape around him behind his front legs that he can still sucker-kick you pretty hard in the belly. It's true.


Now off out to the field to feed Buttercup. B-cup is currently at my friend Loni's house getting her groove back with their bull (who is quite a looker I must say). This is an old photo. So, we currently have a break from the 2 second routine of dumping her bucket of grain into her feeder and filling up her hay bin until she comes back home (hopefully knocked up) in a couple of weeks.



After Buttercup is safely ensconced in her stanchion and chomping some oats and corn, Buttons gets her morning grain, only in a pan on the floor. Eventually we'll build her a stanchion as well, but not for a while.


Now a hop skip and a jump over to the goat yard. First the dogs get fed, otherwise they'd be out trying to steal grain from the goats - goofy things. Craig has done a Cesar-tastic job of training the puppies not to mob us, Abby and/or each other when the food bowls get put in the pen. They have to sit and look only at him, not at the food before he'll put the bowls down. The quietest one gets to eat first. Abby is much too refined to play that game.


After the dogs are fed, it's time for the slightly dangerous, heart pounding task of feeding the Boer herd. You see... the Boers will mob you for the grain bucket. Literally. And, with fifteen 150 pound goats with foot long horns mobbing you, you had better be quick on your feet. I wish I could get a good video of Craig feeding "the girls". He has an awesome "feint left, pivot right and fill a dish" move that should really be seen to be believed. Maybe he should try out for a football team. Please pretend that old trailer in the background by the barn is not there. I begged and pleaded to get it hauled off, but nooooooo... "it'll be spot on for storage". Sigh.



After leaving the goat yard, there is a poultry parade with an escort of "yard birds" waiting to be fed. These foul fowl would wait all day to walk you down to the chicken house honking, quacking and crowing if they thought there was a bit of corn in it for them.



First things first in the chicken house - gotta shoo off the chickens who woke up late and/or forgot to lay their morning egg. Sometimes they just don't feel like getting up off the nest yet and you have to slide an offending hand underneath them to grab the eggs while they try their damndest to peck off a finger. Those warm eggs feel really good when it's cold outside, though!



When the hens are off the nest, the inside flock gets a handful of cracked corn tossed in the straw floor of their house. They are fed "free choice" from a hanging feeder a really nice organic "laying mash", but they go nuts for that tiny bit of corn in the morning. Some birds have no environmental consciousness. These 13 ladies and their two token men-friends stay inside the coop for now, although they do have a caged outside run. They're my egg layers, and I really despise a daily easter egg hunt for my breakfast. When the weather is warmer they'll be let out during the day and brought in at night time. Provided they continue laying in the nest boxes and not in random places around the yard. Hear that girls??



Everyone's off the nest and scratching around for corn, so now it's time to gather eggs. We usually get about 10 eggs a day, and we just tuck them in our jacket pockets while we finish up the rest of the chores. Sometimes you forget that there are eggs in your pocket until you bend down to fill up a water dish and feel a crunch. It's really hard to get crunched egg out of a jacket pocket. Maybe I should get a basket.



With the inside hens attended to, the yard birds get their morning treat. These birds do a lot of fending for themselves keeping bug populations down, so they don't really depend on this feeding for sustenance. During the cold months we increase their corn, but mostly we feed them just so that we can stand around and do pretend voices for them. The big grey goose sounds like Cartman. "Screw you guys.. I'm going to the pond!"


Last but not least in the morning zoo is good old Mo. He has done his manly duty for the season and is back down in his own yard. He just gets a little tiny bit of grain and some hay, all of which is delivered with one hand because the other hand is holding your nose. Stinky old git.


And then FINALLY - back inside for coffee... phew! This only takes around half an hour if you're fast and have no heart. A couple of hours if you have to stand and pet every single animal on the farm. :)

Now to find a place in the routine for PIGS!!!